


Swimming

by remanth



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, Swimming, human!Cas, pre-destiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-23
Updated: 2013-06-23
Packaged: 2017-12-15 22:38:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/854781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remanth/pseuds/remanth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean decides to teach Cas how to swim to get the guy out of his head after being made human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swimming

It started when Dean discovered the lake near the bunker. It was perfectly clear, surprising since so many other waterways had been polluted. It was set back from the road a bit and surrounded by trees. Fish swam lazily through the water while ducks, geese, cranes, and herons floated or walked serenely on top. Once he found the place, Dean spent a lot of his free time here fishing. It was soothing and beautiful, something Dean was lacking altogether too much in his life. And if he came back soaking wet with a huge grin, Sam and Cas never commented on it.

A couple months after he found the lake, Dean hit on the idea to take Cas swimming. The former angel was adapting slowly to being human and Dean could see the strain in his eyes. The first step Cas had taken was to abandon the name Castiel. He went solely by Cas now, explaining his reasoning one night to Dean while they were drunk. As he was human now, Cas was no longer one of God’s soldiers. He’d finished the conversation by asking why he should keep the name that branded him as God’s when he had been abandoned by him. They’d had a few mishaps along the way, one memorable one involving toothpaste, and God knew they all needed a break.

“Hey, Cas, want to get out of here for a bit?” Dean asked casually, bumping Cas’s shoulder with his own. Cas turned to him, blinking red-rimmed eyes. He’d been drinking again and the sight made Dean’s stomach twist. The man was starting to look far too much like the poor shell of an angel Dean had seen in 2014. There was no way he was going to let that happen, hence the suggestion.

“Where to?” Cas asked dully, though interest brightened his eyes a bit. He’d never been steered wrong by Dean, other than the odd prank played on him. Cas had taken to coming to Dean with all his questions as he felt more comfortable with him about the embarrassing things.

“There’s a lake nearby,” Dean explained, flashing Cas a grin. “How about we do some fishing and I teach you how to swim?”

“Fine,” Cas said after a few seconds. He was bored and he’d finished the last of the whiskey last night. Alcohol was the only thing he’d found so far that dulled the sensations in his body enough. It reminded him of when he was an angel and felt his vessel only peripherally. He got up and grabbed the jacket Dean had loaned him as all of Sam’s clothes were too big.

Dean went and gathered his fishing poles and tackle box and some towels. They headed out to the Impala, Dean carefully packing everything in the trunk. Cas slipped into the passenger seat and slumped down, staring morosely out the window. He hated these emotions, the darkness and sadness and pain. They were all he seemed to feel, the ones he couldn’t fight. The ride was silent except for the music Dean had playing softly on the radio. And if Dean kept shooting worried glances at Cas, the former angel didn’t mention it. He’d gotten used to it by now and didn’t have the energy to care exactly _why_ Dean was doing it.

“We’re here,” Dean announced, pulling into a spot that had obviously played host to the Impala before. It was about ten feet from the edge of the lake and shaded by one of the trees spreading its limbs outwards. Cas perked up as he saw the place and a small smile pulled at his lips.

“It’s beautiful,” he murmured, getting out of the car in a slight daze. The scene could rival any of the places he’d seen in Heaven and Cas began to fall in love with the little lake. He walked towards the water as Dean unpacked the trunk.

“It is,” Dean smiled, catching up to Cas and setting everything on the bank. “This is where I’ve been going when I need to get out of the bunker. It’s nice to have _someplace_ to go. Never really had that before.”

Cas turned to Dean and smiled, gripping his shoulder where his handprint had been seared years ago. They stood like that for several moments, an entire conversation in the space around them. It was always like this, always had been. Somehow, they just clicked. It was good and something Dean craved, though he rarely admitted that to himself.

“So, what do you want to do first?” Dean asked, breaking the silence though not moving away. “If we go swimming, we can dry off while we fish.”

“All right,” Cas replied, looking over at the water as he let his hand slide off Dean’s shoulder. “I’ve never gone swimming before. Is it hard to learn?”

“Naw, just takes practice,” Dean reassured Cas, noting the thread of worry that had crept into the other man’s words. He started shrugging out of his clothes, not wanting to get them soaked. Cas watched him for a moment, confused, before deciding to do the same. “And I won’t let you drown. No worries about that.”

Once both had stripped down to their boxers, Dean waded into the lake. It was a little chilly but felt good since the air was hot and humid. He turned when he was waist deep, holding out a hand to Cas when he saw the former angel hadn’t moved.

“Come on, Cas, the water’s fine,” Dean called, grinning. He wiggled his fingers invitingly, laughing when Cas rolled his eyes but waded in.

“It’s cold,” Cas hissed in surprise, staring down at the water like it had done it personally. He continued on, eventually reaching Dean and taking his hand. Which wasn’t what Dean had meant to happen, but hey, he wasn’t complaining. Cas’s hand was warm in his and Dean tugged on it to lead Cas into deeper water.

“Ok, the trick is to relax,” Dean explained as the water rose up his chest to his shoulders. “If you struggle or stiffen up, you’ll just sink. The water is going to support you, you just have to let it.”

Cas nodded, determination and concentration on his face. As he was a couple inches shorter than Dean, the water was about halfway up his neck. Still gripping Dean’s hand, Cas let his feet leave the bottom of the lake and he tried to float. This had the effect of his entire body twisting until he was half on his back with his legs stretched out in front of him. Panic overtook him and Cas started windmilling his legs and free arm. This only served to dunk him underwater and he breathed in a mouthful of water.

“Cas!” Dean exclaimed, pulling on Cas’s hand and getting one arm around his shoulders to help him up. Cas’s head popped up out of the water and he coughed, streams of water falling down his face. “It’s ok, you’re all right. Just breathe, man.”

Cas’s grip on Dean’s hand had turned painful but neither man noticed as Cas worked to even out his breathing. Finally, when he could take a breath without wheezing, Cas nodded. Dean took a deep breath, the first since Cas had gone under. He didn’t want anything to happen to the guy, he really didn’t.

“I don’t think this is going well,” Cas said, voice hoarse from coughing. “Perhaps fishing in order.”

“Naw, it’s fine,” Dean argued, shaking his head. “Everyone gets dunked at least once. Try it again. I should have warned you that you’d move as you floated.”

It took several more tries and a few more dunkings before Cas managed to relax enough and not fight the water. Once he had floating down, Dean taught him a few simple swimming strokes. And if they never broke their contact throughout the entire thing, neither man mentioned it. For Cas, it was comforting. For Dean, it was comforting as well and something he’d never allowed himself to want.

 

After Cas knew as much about swimming as Dean thought he could handle, they headed back to the bank and dried off. Both were smiling and laughing, a new and far more relaxed atmosphere around them. Before, Dean had felt the tension that always seemed to exist between them. Now, that tension seemed to be tempered and he liked it. The rest of the day was spent in that same accord, fishing and talking about their happier memories.

And when they got back to the bunker, Sam noticed right away that Dean and Cas were both happier and seemed to be, cliche as it was, glowing. He just smiled and shook his head. It was about damn time they both got their heads out of their asses and realized what they were to each other. But he knew better than to mention it.


End file.
